Book reviews

Susan Eisenhower (ed.), NATO at Fifty: Perspectives on the Future of the Atlantic Alliance. Washington, DC: Center for Political and Strategic Studies, 1999. Pp.242, endnotes, no index. $22. ISBN 0–9670233–0‐0.

W. R. Smyser, From Yalta to Berlin: The Cold War Struggle over Germany. New York: St Martin's Press, 1999. Pp.496, 6pp. illus., index. $29.95. ISBN 0–3120–6605–8.

Jean Yves Carlen, Steve Duchêne and Joël Ehrhart, Ibrahim Rugova: Le frêle colosse du Kosovo [Ibrahim Rugova: The Frail Colossus of Kosovo]. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1999. Pp.149, no index. FF78. ISBN 2–220–04392–4.

Gabriel Gorodetsky, Grand Delusion: Stalin and the German Invasion of Russia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999. Pp.424, notes, bibliog., index. $29.95. ISBN 0–300–07792–0.     

Business "Not" as Usual: The National Incident Management System, Federalism, and Leadership

Federal, state, and local governments did not work well together to provide an effective response to Hurricane Katrina. Some of this failure can be attributed to the power struggle between the federal and state governments. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) was designed to foster collaboration among governments and their departments and agencies. However, this system largely failed. To overcome this failure, many have proposed centralizing disaster response in the federal government. Centralized control would damage the basic federal structure of our government as the national government appeals to the ever-present dangers of terrorism and natural disaster to gain permanent primacy in the relationship. The current federal system actually can work better than centralization if leadership and organizational transformation are stressed. The National Incident Management System has many elements in place that can make the federal system of disaster response work if the proper stress on organizational transformation and leadership is applied.

If we ignore the systemic issues and simply replace people or re-assign responsibilities, we may simply fail again in the not too distant future with a different cast of characters.
John R. Harrald, director of the Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management,
       George Washington University
U.S. House Committee on Government Reform hearing, September 15, 2005

     

An Equality and Human Rights Commission Worthy of the Name

The Human Rights Act 1998 came fully into force on 2 October 2000, enabling the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to be relied on directly in our domestic courts.¹ The Act lacked provision for a Human Rights Commission to advise and assist alleged victims in bringing proceedings for breaches of Convention rights, to research, intervene in court proceedings, and promote a culture of human rights, although such a Commission had been created for Northern Ireland. A White Paper has now been issued outlining plans for a Commission for Equality and Human Rights. This paper considers the future role and potential impact of the Commission and highlights opportunities that have been missed since October 2000 in its absence. We focus on its human rights aspects and summarize key conditions for the new Commission's success.